Sandra Keen began her learning journey when she turned 30, and at 57 years old her love of learning hasn’t eased up. Only recently, she completed a New Zealand Certificate in Project Management (Level 4) at eCampus NZ.
“Every time you learn something that’s useful it changes your way of thinking and adds to your knowledge base to make you more employable and to give you more transferrable skills,” says Sandra.
Having spent several years applying components of project management daily in her role, but having no formal training in this space, Sandra decided to investigate courses to gain a greater understanding of the theory behind project management. This way she could be more organised, have better follow through and evaluate projects thoroughly.
The Certificate in Project Management with eCampus NZ stood out to Sandra above the rest. “It was the only course that had the most relevance to what I needed. It was affordable and was online, which meant I could do it in my own time and study around my full-time job,” says Sandra. She also liked that it had nice, general overview about projects.
On commencing the course, Sandra found the online learning experience easy to follow and that clear instructions were provided. To stay on top of the study she would complete 2-3 hour blocks in the evenings and weekends. Sandra said the support was there if needed and that the tutors at eCampus NZ were great at providing feedback, that they were easily contactable and really encouraging. She also enjoyed the ability to chat with other students online.
A key learning of the course for Sandra was realising the work that goes into planning before a project starts. “It was really good to find out how much thinking you actually have to do e.g. who’s involved, what impacts on the project, what’s the scope, time range etc. and how to get it all planned out to make sure it’s reasonable and realistic,” says Sandra.
Sandra has been able to apply many aspects of the course into her role. It has made her slow down rather than jumping into initiatives and ensures she has the proper buy-in before proceeding. She has also used a lot of the concepts with the community groups that she works with.